Aliens Exist?
by snap-crackel-pop
Summary: After Buffy and Joyce die, who is left to care for Dawn? With her father too busy, new wife and all, and the scoobies not an option, there just isn't anywhere for her to go. Except maybe her aunt in New Mexico...
1. 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the places, but I hope I own the plot. Let me know if I don't.

My first story didn't go as well as I had hoped. I am going to give it another try. If this one doesn't go right, I'll stop writing and just continue reading and keeping my mouth shut.

Here goes......

She sat on the couch...lost. Lost in thought, and, in her opinion, lost in the world. The house was full of people. Most she knew and some she didn't. She knew by now that after the funeral came the wake, but what she didn't know was that at the wake, you got overwhelmed by other people's emotions on top of yours. This absolutely sucks. You're crying, they're crying, and it's so difficult to just stop. Well she found a way. She found a hiding place; in the basement. With Spike, who had long stopped crying. They didn't talk; they just sat listening to all the people up above them.

She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. First of all, she had only recently buried her mother, who just dropped. Someone said that it had been a brain aneurysm. She and Buffy went to the surgeons that worked on their mom, and asked them. They told her. She lost control of herself, and screamed at them. Why the hell hadn't they taken care of that in the first damn place? They'd had the chance when they took the tumors out. Why not take care of it then. They hadn't seen it. Oh, for Heaven's sake, give me a damn brake. Doctors can be such dip shits. And she'd told them that, too. In her heart she knew they did all they could, but it still wasn't enough. It never was enough.

And now Buffy... She has to bury her sister. She was all that she had left now. Well, there's Spike. He won't leave, he'll stay with her. He promised that he would, and here he is. She smiled, and moved to lie down on Spike's cot. He moved to accommodate her, and she put her head on his thigh. She sighed as he started to stroke her long hair. She remembered her long lost crush that she had on him. Now he was the big brother she never had, and she wanted to stay like this forever. She wanted to forget about her mother and her sister. She wanted to stop wanting to cry every time she thought of them.

She heard someone calling her name, and she and Spike stiffened. "Shoot, and here I was thinking I wouldn't have to talk to him until later." She frowned. What did he want? Well, she was about to find out, because he was at the door of the basement. He had found her. She wondered who had ratted her out.

"Bloody buggering hell."

Dawn sat up. "You got that right."

"Dawn can I talk to you for a moment?" What choice did she have, really?

"I'll be right up, dad." Dawn sighed as she stood up and made for the stairs. "I swear if he so much as says he's sorry I'm going to scream." When she got to the door to the basement, she saw him. He was standing next to a woman that could only be Sofia. She rolled her eyes. This is what he left us for? There is no way in hell that those things were real.

Her father looked up and motioned for her to come over. She complied, but only because she wanted to get this mess over with. To let him say his piece and then leave. She hoped he wouldn't ever come back. Not because she hated him, but because it hurt to look at him. To know that while she was dealing with all this pain, he was off in some foreign country, having a good time. He was such a bastard. She put on a blank face.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, Dawn. I wanted to introduce you to..."

"Sofia, I kinda figured that. But I don't think that was all."

"Uh, yeah, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well, get to the point. If you don't mind that is." It was rude, she knew, but she really didn't care at this point.

Her father cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. "Well, Dawn, I've been thinking about what to do about you, and I figured...."

She held up a hand. "Whoa. Stop right there. You were trying to 'figure out what to do with me'? Like I'm some piece of furniture that needs to be moved, but you can't decide where?"

"No! Dawn that's not what I meant at all."

"You made it sound like that." The nerve of this man.

He sighed, like this was causing trouble he didn't want. Well, he started it. "Sweet heart, I just want what's best for you. And I think it would be best if you went to live with your aunt Diane in New Mexico until you're old enough to be by yourself."

She stood there stunned. "Excuse me?"

"My sister lives with her family in Roswell, New Mexico. And I think..."

Dawn shook her head. "I think you think too much. And I wasn't asking for you to repeat yourself. I wanted to you to explain yourself." He has no clue.

"I'm sorry?"

"I know you are but that's not really the point." This man also has no brain. "I want to know where you get off doing what you did and then coming here and expecting me to just jump to your slightest command."

"Young lady, I want to know where you get off talking to me like that. I am your father, and demand that you give me respect."

"You left us. You gave up your right to give me demands, and I refuse to give you the respect that you never gave to my mother."

"I respected your mother."

"If you respect my mother so damn much then why the hell did you bring that WHORE into her house?" She was yelling by now, and boy did it ever feel so good.

And now it Sofia's turn to yell. "Little girl, you have no right to call me such a thing."

Dawn glared at her. "Lady, if you know what's good for you, you'll shut up and sit down."

Sofia glared back. "Or you'll what?"

Dawn smirked. "I'll make you."

Sofia laughed. "Right. You, a sixteen-year-old, now nothing girl, won't make me do a damn thing."

"Wanna bet?" Dawn started forward to teach Sofia a lesson when she was grabbed from behind. She turned around to see Spike. She pouted.

"Now, bit, you know it's not nice to beat up the guests,"

"Aw come one Spike." She turned back to Sofia with an evil glint in her eye. "Just let me rip her hair out."

Spike laughed. "Not today, Bit. Wait until there's no witnesses about."

"You ruin all my fun."

Her dad must have finally found his voice. "Now that is enough."

Spike snorted. "You're just a little late. It's been taken care of, Mate."

Her dad ignored Spike. "Now, Dawn, I want to talk with out you interrupting." He cleared his throat. "I've already called Diane and let her know you'll be coming. Your plane leaves tomorrow afternoon."

"What!?!"

Sofia sneered. "It's either New Mexico, or Switzerland, my dear."

Dawn looked at Sofia. "Who asked you?"

"Your father did. When we found out that Puffy was dead, we knew that you were going to have to live with us, and I won't stand for it. So we, well I, came up with some options. If you don't go live with Hank's sister, then I send you off to a boarding school in Switzerland."

Dawn looked over at Spike. "Can I rip her hair out now?" And then she stopped. "Wait a minute. Who died and made you my mother?"

Sofia smirked. "Well, I don't want to be crude, but your mother did. Hank and I have been married for six months now."

Dawn's jaw dropped, and she turned to her father. "And you didn't think to tell anyone?"

Hank shrugged. "It never came up."

"Never came up? You didn't think that maybe your daughters had a right to know that they were getting a wicked stepmother? Or tell your wife that she was getting replaced?"

"I didn't think it would matter."

"Oh...it matters big time, Bub." She poked a finger in his chest. "And don't I get a say in where I'm supposed to spend the rest of my adolescence?"

Sofia, who hadn't lost her smirk, piped up. "Actually you don't."

Dawn turned back to her, quite fed up. "Actually, I don't remember directing my question to you, hag." She ignored the indignant gasp and turned back to her father.

"Well?" She hated this back and forth game.

"Sofia's right, Dawn. Those were the best options."

Spike laughed at him and shook his head. "Man, you are so whipped."

Dawn was tired. She just wanted to go to bed. "So that's it? The desert or the snow?"

Hank nodded.

Dawn sighed. "You could have given me a little more time. I hardly have time to pack."

"The rest of your things can be sent for."

Dawn snorted. "Right. Get rid of the infestation as soon as possible so you can sell the house and get the most profit."

"Actually, I'm not going to sell the house."

Dawn looked up and frowned at him. "What?"

"I'm not going to sell the house. I'm going to give it to you when you turn twenty-one."

Dawn's eyes widened. Now there was a shocker. "I think that's the first nice thing you've done yet."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "If I had my way, I'd reduce this shack to rubble."

Dawn smiled sweetly. "If I had my way, I'd give you a reason to get another nose job."

Sofia glared at her. And Dawn smiled back at her, but faded as she turned back to her father. "Well, I guess I'd better start packing." She turned away and started for the stairs, but her father stopped her.

"Dawn, you know I love you, right?"

She studied him. "I think that you think you love me. Any love you might feel for me is fabricated just because I happen to be a part of you." She continued up the stairs, and up to her room. When she got to her bed she sat on it and cried. It wasn't fair. Why did she have to leave? Why couldn't she just stay here? She sighed as she wiped her face. "I guess I'd better get started."

Ok. There it is. Let me know if I should continue.


	2. 2

For the disclaimer, please see chapter one.

Ok, time for round two...here we go.

Max, Liz, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Alex and Kyle were all sitting the courtyard having lunch, and talking. The topic of the discussion was Dawn, who was coming to live with Max and Iz.

Michael was suspicious. "Are we sure she's really your cousin? I mean, she could be a spy for the government."

Izzy rolled her eyes at him. "Michael, please. She's a sixteen-year-old girl, not a spy for the government."

"Is she hot?" Izzy saw the look in Kyle's eye, and glared at him.

"She's grieving, you moron."

Kyle lifted his hands to ward off the attack. "Hey, it can't hurt to ask."

Liz just shook her head and turned back to Max. "So, when's she coming?"

"Mom said that she'd be here sometime tomorrow night, if her plane's not delayed."

"What I want to know is why she is coming."

Izzy glared at Michael. "She has no where else to go."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm being nosy, but how did that happen?"

Max sighed. "Her mother died a few months ago, and her sister died a few days ago. Mom says that her step mother was going to send her off to a boarding school in Europe if she didn't want to come here."

Maria sucked in a breath. "Harsh."

Michael shook his head. "I still don't like it."

Max sighed. "You don't have to like it, she's coming, and that's that."

Michael stood up and stormed from the table. Max sighed again. Michael was stubborn, but, Max figured, that was his right.

Maria watched as he walked away. "He is such a butt-head."

Izzy snorted. "Understatement."

Maria turned back to the group. "So, she'll be taking classes with us?"

Max shrugged. "We're just going to have to see when she gets here."

They all sat in relative silence for the rest of their lunch hour before the bell rang, and it was time to go back to class.

Later that day...

Diane and Izzy led the Dawn into the house. Max was behind her with her luggage. "So, here we are. Home."

Dawn looked around the house. It wasn't too big and it wasn't too small. It was nice, but it wasn't home.

She tried to give her aunt an encouraging smile. "It's beautiful."

Diane turned to Izzy. "Why don't you and Max help Dawn get settled, and I'll start dinner."

Izzy turned to Dawn and smiled at her. "Come on, and I'll give you a tour."

Dawn nodded, and followed her up to her room. "I hope I'm not putting anyone out..."

Izzy blinked at her. "Don't be silly. There's plenty of room for us all." Isabel smiled. "You even get your own bathroom. It's right across the hall from your room. My room is the first one down the hall and Max's room is right after mine. So, if you need anything, just knock, and we'll do what we can."

Dawn nodded and smiled. "Thanks. Do you think it would be okay if I took a quick shower before dinner?"

"I don't see why not." She turned to Max. "Max and I can go help mom and let you get settled."

Max smiled at Dawn. "We'll be downstairs if you need anything."

Isabel nodded and she and Max went downstairs.

"And then there was one." Dawn sighed. They weren't as bad as Dawn had thought they'd be. She figured they'd be snobby and uninviting, but they were very nice. The situation her father had put her in wasn't the best, but she figured that it could have been worse.

Diane and Izzy were in the kitchen cooking while Max was setting the table. "Do you guys think she likes it here?"

Izzy shrugged. "It might be too soon to tell at this point. Give her time, mom."

Diane nodded. "You're right. She just got here. I just have to give her time to get settled, the poor thing. I can't believe my brother did this to her."

Izzy smiled sadly. "It could have been much worse. She could have been completely forgotten, and left by herself. I mean, at least she has someone to care for her."

Diane nodded again. "You're right...again." She smiled at her daughter. "Will you, you know, take her under your wing?"

Isabel frowned. "What do you mean, mom?" But she knew what her mom wanted from her. This was not going to be a fun year at school.

"You know, introduce her to people, and help her make friends. Help her catch up on her school work if she needs it. I know what its like to move to a new school in the middle of the year. It's no picnic in the park."

Izzy inwardly groaned. "Sure, mom. It'll be like having the little sister I never had." Let the babysitting begin.

"Do you guys need any help?" A startled Diane and Izzy looked up to find the object of their conversation standing in the doorway.

Diane smiled. "No, sweety, we have everything under control."

Izzy smirked at her. "You have a week before we start putting you on dish duty."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "That long?"

Izzy smiled. "Long enough for you to get settled, then we'll start putting you to work."

Dawn smiled back. "Sounds like a plan."

Diane gasped. "I just remembered..." And she ran out of the room only to come back a few seconds later with an envelope in her hand. She gave it to Dawn. "This is your class schedule."

Dawn frowned. "I start school tomorrow?"

Diane shook her head. "I thought that it would be best for you to have a little bit of time to adjust to the time difference." Diane looked at Izzy. "What day is today?"

Izzy looked at the calendar that was on the fridge. "It's Thursday."

Diane nodded again. "You'll start on Monday. Is that okay with you?"

Dawn nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Dawn, can I see your schedule?" Dawn turned to Max and handed him the piece of paper. "Looks like you have...1st period with Maria and Liz...2nd period with me, Michael, Liz, and Alex...3rd period you're with Kyle (have fun)...4th period with Maria and Alex...lunch with us...5th period with Liz...6th period is all you."

Izzy rolled her eyes at him. "She doesn't even know who all those people are, Max."

Max smiled sheepishly. "After dinner we'll take you to The Crashdown, and I'll introduce you to them if they're there."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "The 'Crashdown'?"

Izzy shook her head. "It's a café that Liz's parents own. It's completely alien themed. Right down to the tacky get ups they make the waitress's wear."

"Riiight. A tourist trap within a tourist trap."

"Exactly."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Perfect."

Izzy laughed. "You'll get used to it."

Ooooooooo

I would like to thank all the people who reviewed so far. I'm so happy that all of you have liked it so far. And for all you Spike fans, he's coming very soon. I don't think I'm going to make any pairing right off the top. It's too soon, I think.

And I'd like to remind you all that I'm kinda winging it. Not really going by either the BTVS or the Roswell story line, but then I am. Mostly cuz my DVD player took a major dump and I was forced to dump it in the garbage can. And I can't really make anything accurate at this point.

So if you guys get confused, don't worry I'm right there with you. Once my girl gets back on her feet, I'll get my beta back. Her house was completely destroyed between all the monster hurricanes that tore a new one to central Florida. She lost just about everything, and is forced to live with her grandparents. Hopefully she'll soon get everything straightened out.

Ok I'll stop now, just as long as you leave a review. :0)


	3. 3

A/N: I thank all you guys for your support and I do not apologize for taking so long. I have good reasons and they are many. It's long and drawn out so I won't go into it. My muse has decided to go on vacation, only dropping in from time to time to check up. So, if the next couple chapters suck royally it really isn't my fault. Well, it's only partly my fault. Even as I post this I have the next chapter drafted and am awaiting my faithful editor to make an appearance. So, please read on and bare with me.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dawn groaned, and rolled over. There was a buzzing noise coming from somewhere in the room. She couldn't put her finger on where exactly, she just knew that it was disturbing her much needed sleep. She raised her head up and looked around the room. Buzzing...alarm. Damn. She groaned again as she reached over to turn the stupid thing off. Apparently, it was time to get up.

She threw the covers off, knocking them to the floor, and sat at the edge of the bed for a minute. After a long argument with her brain and limbs, she lurched forward and promptly sat back down. She groaned and rubbed her face, trying to wake up. She really didn't want to wake up. She wanted to curl back up in the nice warm bed that was calling to her.

She was picking out her outfit for the day, when there was a knock on the door.

"Dawn are you awake?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. What a mother hen.

"Yeah, Max, I'm up. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Right. Well, if you had plans on a hot shower it's going to be a cold one. Izzy just took over the bathroom."

Dawn faintly heard the bathroom door open down the hall. "I heard that."

"You were meant to." Max chuckled. "I'll see you downstairs, Dawn."

"Yeah."

It's gonna be a long day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thirty minutes later, Dawn was in the dining room with Max, Izzy and Aunt Diane talking and eating breakfast. Well, they were talking and she was trying to work up an apatite to eat the food in front of her.

She heard the phone ring, and froze to listen as Aunt Diane left the table to answer it. Was that Willow or Giles? Oh, it was only Uncle Phillip. He'd be home tonight around dinner time.

She absently passed Max the Tabasco sauce he asked for.

Dawn frowned in disappointment. Willow did say that she or Giles was going to call soon, right? Well, soon has come and gone, hadn't it? They must be busy. She'd try to call them after school.

She sighed and looked back at Max as he poured a generous amount of Tabasco on his scrambled eggs. She raised her eyebrow. Normal people would consider that weird. She shrugged and went back to her own scrambled eggs smothered in ketchup.

OOOOOOOOOO

Dawn, Liz, and Maria stopped in the hallway in front of their first class.

Maria and Liz were smiling, but Dawn was a nervous wreck. What if no one liked her? What if they thought she was a freak? What if...?

Liz laid a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Dawn, you've got to calm down. It's nothing you haven't done before." She shrugged, and smiled encouragingly. "You can sit with me and Maria, and i promise that the teacher won't bite."

Dawn tried to smile back at Liz, but failed miserably. Her stomach was in knots, and her cuts, the ones she got from Glory, were burning and itching terribly.

Maria sighed, and started pushing Dawn towards the door. "Would you just go in there and get it over with? There's no use in agonizing about it. It's going to happen whether you like it or not."

Dawn was dragging her heels as much as she could on the tiles of the hallway, but her shoes held no hope in traction. But, by the time she screwed up the courage to move on her own momentum, the door was already opened and she was pushed gently through the door. She looked around nervously, and smiled even more so. Everyone in the room was looking at her. She straightened her shirt and tugged at her skirt, and then turned to glare at Maria. Maria just shrugged and pointed to the teacher. Dawn turned to the teacher, who seemed like a fairly friendly woman.

"Hello. You must be Dawn." The lady said warmly, and turned to face the rest of the class. "Everyone, our new student is Dawn Summers. She joins us from California. Please, make her feel welcome."

Dawn smiled nervously as the students who hadn't been paying attention, now had her in their sights.

"Well, Dawn, I'm Ms. Norton. You may have a seat anywhere you like, and that will be your permanent seat." She handed Dawn a piece of paper. "This is a list of school and class rules. I don't mind you talking in class, just as long as I'm not lecturing." Dawn nodded again and made her way to the empty seat on the other side of Liz.

Ms. Norton then turned her attention back to the class as the bell rang, signaling the start of the day.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Dawn sat alone at a table in the quad, picking at the food on her plate. School lunches must suck universally. What did they put in this crap? Sand?

She looked up and frowned. Where was everyone? Max had said that everyone had lunch together so it wasn't like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She looked around the quad and studied the different groups of students. There was Izzy sitting with who looked to be the popular girls. She briefly contemplated waving at her, but stopped herself short. Izzy didn't seem to pleased to have her hanging around. She decided not to call attention to herself.

Dawn sighed. She missed her friends. She didn't remember being this much of an outcast back in Sunnydale.

She sighed again. Sunnydale. Most of the time she tried not to think about home. Thinking about home led to thinking about Buffy and her Mom. Thinking about them made her think of all the things that she'd had to give up, all because of her father. Thinking of him made her a little angry. Well, more than a little. All she'd had to give up because that hag Sofia.

Dawn was startled out of her thoughts by someone sitting down in front of her. She jumped and looked up and noticed a guy that could only be Michael looking at her funny.

Dawn raised her eyebrow, and asked, "What?"

Michael blinked a few times and shrugged. "You had this weird look on your face. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Dawn shook her head. "I'm new here."

Michael frowned. "Why are you sitting here?"

Dawn frowned back at him. "What do you mean? Isn't this a free country?" She looked around. "I'm pretty sure I have the right to sit anywhere I choose."

Michael was about to respond, but was cut off by Max and Liz followed by Alex and Maria walking up to the table.

"Michael, I see you've met my cousin, Dawn." Max said, to break the tension he could probably have cut with a knife.

Michael looked from Max to Dawn. "This is Dawn?"

Max nodded, "Yep."

Michael nodded. "Then, yes, we've met." And then he walked away.

Dawn watched as he left. "Strange guy. He is big on the paranoid isn't he?"

Maria laughed. "You have no idea."

They all sat down at the table and started talking amongst themselves.

Alex turned to Dawn and introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Alex." He stuck out his hand.

Dawn accepted the handshake. "I'm Dawn."

He sat back and studied her for a moment. "I noticed that you were thinking rather hard before Michael interrupted you."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, It seems like all I've done recently is think."

He nodded. "What were you thinking about?"

She looked at him for a moment. "Home. My evil stepmother. My sister. Just...home."

Alex frowned. "Evil stepmother?"

"She's a total bitch."

Alex made a face. "That bad?"

Dawn shrugged. "It could be worse."

"Worse how? You were sent away to live with long-lost relatives."

She looked at him again. "I could have been sent to Switzerland. At least here in New Mexico, I don't have a long way to go to get home."


	4. not 4

I am sorry to tell you guys that I am going to have to stall this story for just a little bit. The things I talked about in the last chapter have just come to a head. My mother just called from work. Apparently my grandfather, who has been in the hospital since Thanksgiving for cancer, has an infection. The doctor says he's unresponsive, and wants to sleep all the time. This is not good, at all. I work in a nursing home, and I see it all the time. Mom says the doctor wants the family to be with him. I knew that the cancer was terminal, but I thought I'd have at least enough time to visit him some more. I can't even go visit him with the rest of the family because I have to go to work. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I don't know when I'll be updating next. Thank you.


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